Happy Birthday Noah!

I can’t believe Noah is 1 year old! I am a food and crafting enthusiast, and I had many ideas for Noah’s party. He loves jungle animals, especially monkeys, and has an amazing ability for music for his age. So, I combined the two for a “Rumble in the Jungle” theme.

The Menu

I wanted to make the food healthy, gluten-free, refined-sugar free, and beautiful. I wanted to do this for two reasons:

I didn’t want a ton of food there that I wouldn’t have been comfortable with him eating in case someone was to feed him something.

I wanted to show our family that beautiful, delicious food can be healthy without leaving you feeling deprived. I even found many of the dessert recipes I used a lot easier because I just put everything in a blender!

For the food, I grilled meat for sandwiches or salads. I made two salads, one with bacon, avocado and veggies, and the other with fruit, cheese, and nuts. Then, I made guacamole, hummus, veggie tray, and a fruit tray.

For his smash cake, I made a carrot cake that was gluten-free and refined sugar free. You can find the recipe here. I thought having the carrots in the cake helped make a great cake without gluten. Plus, the creamy icing I made with coconut oil, grass-fed butter, and cashew butter was so addicting! While he was “playing with the cake”, I would give him a bite and eat some myself!!! Also, the drink area was labeled “Watering Hole”. I provided water, grapefruit sparkling water, and a little apple juice for the kids. All the sparkling water was gone by the end.

Decorations

For the decorations, I made the following:

Monthly photos on a snake banner

Happy Birthday sign made with jungle leaves

Instruments with jungle print

Headbands with animal ears for the kids – the girls loved them!

Bright colors!!!

Streamers and leaves to make the park pavilion look like a jungle

A sign at the parking area with animal print balloons to let people know where to go

Chalk drawings on the ground of animal prints – the kids liked drawing with the chalk later

For every woman out there trying to have a baby, it can be frustrating and stressful. Temping. Charting. Cervical mucus. DPO. Two week wait. The list goes on…

But, what if you have no idea what your body is doing?

This is my second go-around trying to conceive, and this time has created its own set of frustrations. Every cramp, bloated day, fatigue, craving. I have no idea what it means. It could be PMS, pregnancy, ovulation, or my hormones being out-of-whack because I am breastfeeding.

For all the women out there that have struggled TTC, mostly, I sympathize, and in a small way, I empathize. I pray your hopes of a baby come to be.